Ryanair seeks to revamp image to be more like Aldi

Ryanair said an image revamp aims to place the discount carrier alongside retailers Aldi, Ikea, and Hennes & Mauritz in appealing to customers who require a quality product alongside competitive prices.

Ryanair is positioning itself among “those types of brands which represent the European zeitgeist that savvy living is a good thing, and being smart with your money is quite good,” chief commercial officer Kenny Jacobs said.

Aldi’s reputation, he said, once purely for “cheap food,” is now for “lowest prices, good choice.”

Ryanair is two-thirds of the way through the “heavy lifting” of its transformation plan, Mr Jacobs said, having rolled out changes ranging from the acceptance of American Express credit cards to the introduction of in-flight milk-warming for babies, allocated seats and early boarding.

While the old no-frills focus aimed to add clients, as the annual passenger tally nears 100m the strategy is “about retention,” he said. Europe’s biggest discount charter will unveil a new customer charter next week.

Plans include further development of the website, which has already had a revamp to make it more customer friendly, and steps to enhance mobile communications for Google Android and Apple iPhone users.

The carrier is also looking to be not purely an airline but “more like a travel retailer which specialises in flights,” he added, citing the expansion of Amazon into new markets.

Bloomberg